(א) תנו לה מפרי ידיה ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה (משלי לא, לא)... ולפי שהאשה אינה ראויה להתהלל בחן או ביופי רק כשהיא יראת ה' יתברך והוא שאמר (משלי לא) שקר החן והבל היופי אשה יראת ה' היא תתהלל, על כן סתם סוף דבריו תנו לה מפרי ידיה ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה, כלומר ראוי שיתנו לה כבוד מפרי ידיה ממה שאצרה והרויחה, ושיהללו אותה בני אדם בשערים על יופי מעשיה וכשרון פעולותיה, כענין שידוע באביגיל אשר בזריזותה וטוב שכלה הצילה בעלה וכל בני ביתו מחרב דוד ואנשיו, וכענין שאמר לה דוד (שמואל א כה) וברוך טעמך וברוכה את אשר כליתיני היום הזה מבא בדמים.
(1) תנו לה מפרי ידיה ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה, “Acknowledge her for the fruit of her hands, and let her accomplishments praise her in her gates” (Proverbs 31,31)... Solomon, when discussing marriage, said that a woman does not deserve to be praised on account of her physical beauty, graceful mannerism. Solomon said (Proverbs 31,30) “grace is deceptive, beauty is vain, a G’d-fearing woman is the woman who is truly praiseworthy.” This is also why he concludes by saying: “acknowledge her for the fruit of her hands and let her accomplishments praise her in the gates.” It is appropriate that she be praised for what she does, not for the attributes she was endowed with at birth [something for which one should praise the Lord, not her. Ed.] We find that Abigail was the prototype for such a woman whose good virtues employed at the right time and in the right place, saved her husband and her entire household from being killed by David and his men. David himself acknowledged this when he said to her (Samuel I 25,33): ”blessed be your prudence, and blessed be you yourself for restraining me from seeking redress in blood by my own hands.“
To whom is Avigayil loyal?
Let us now move on to another central character in this story: Avigayil. As stated, it is Avigayil who prevents David from sinning with unnecessary bloodshed. Let us now examine the stratagems that Avigayil employs in order to convince David to set aside his plans.
Let us first consider the refreshments that Avigayil prepares to bring to David:
(18) Then Avigayil made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
The words used to describe Avigayil's present stand in contrast to those used by Naval when he refused David's request:
(11) Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?
To what Naval had refused to give David, Avigayil adds parched corn, raisins, and cakes of figs. She sends a very generous gift as the first step in appeasing David.
Later, when Avigayil sees David, she quickly exercises measures that express total submission, in absolute contrast to the belittling attitude of Naval:
(23) And when Avigayil saw David, she made haste, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed down to the ground. (24) And she fell at his feet…
Now, after having taken these preparatory steps, Avigayil opens with the most important speech of her life – a speech in which she pleads for her life and the life of her family. Let us follow the tactics that Avigayil uses in her speech:
… and she said, "Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let your handmaid, I pray you, speak in your ears, and hear you the words of your handmaid. (25) Let not my lord, I pray you, regard this base fellow, even Naval; for as his name is, so is he: Naval is his name, and villainy is with him; but I your handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom you did send. (26) Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives,[7] seeing the Lord has withheld you from blood-guiltiness, and from finding redress for yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Naval. (27) And now this present which your servant has brought[8] unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord.[9] (28) Forgive, I pray you, the trespass of your handmaid; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house,[10]because my lord fights the battles of the Lord; and evil is not found in you all your days. (29) And though man be risen up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life[11] with the Lord your God; and the souls of your enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.[12] (30) And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you prince over Israel (31) that this shall be no stumbling block unto you, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has found redress for himself. And when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid."
In terms of content, Avigayil's words can be divided into three main themes:
1) Avigayil accepts upon herself responsibility, but justifies herself with the argument that she had not seen David's young men. The very bringing of the "blessing" to David is the simplest repair of what had happened.
2) Avigayil diminishes the image of Naval and presents him as one who is not even worthy of discussion.
3) Avigayil emphasizes that if David kills Naval, it will be David who, in the end, will suffer, for it is inappropriate for the eventual king to have unnecessary bloodshed recorded on his resume.
Avigayil's speech is a literary masterpiece, and among other things, attention should be paid to the following:
1) Avigayil refers to David as "my lord" fourteen times and seven times she mentions the name of God. In this way she expresses her submission to David, as well as the centrality of God in the framework of the moral arguments that she presents.
2) Avigayil refers to herself as "your handmaid" five times.
3) Avigayil refers to future events as if they had already occurred, and thus she removes the sting from the dilemma that has not yet been resolved. This is the way to understand, "Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, seeing the Lord has withheld you from blood-guiltiness, and from finding redress for yourself with your own hand;" in other words, Avigayil relates to David as if he had already decided not to kill Naval. In order to strengthen David's resolve, she adds: "Now therefore let your enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Naval," as if Naval had already been punished.[13] Talk of David's kingdom as a given fact adds to this atmosphere, and thus Avigayil alludes that David must relate to what is happening from a royal perspective.
4) Avigayil expresses veiled empathy for David's situation, being pursued by king Shaul: "And though man be risen up to pursue you, and to seek your soul." Interestingly, she uses the word "man" (adam), the very term that David had used on various occasions when he turned to Shaul and referred to him in this indirect manner as a show of respect to him. This is the word he used before he went out to fight Golyat, when he calmed Shaul, saying: "Let no man's heart fail within him," (17:32), as well as in the previous chapter: "Why do you hearken to men's words, saying, 'Behold, David seeks your hurt?'" (24:9).
5) Avigayil hides her main argument that killing Naval would constitute unnecessary bloodshed in the many words of respect and blessing that she heaps upon David. She does not sound this argument directly, but merely alludes to it. Thus, she avoids forcing David to face this argument head on.
Indeed, Avigayil's impressive speech succeeds in persuading David to accept her position. The conclusion of this dramatic event will be discussed in next week's lecture.
(Translated by David Strauss)
...לֹא יַרְבֶּה לּוֹ נָשִׁים (דברים יז), אֶלָּא שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, מַרְבֶּה הוּא לוֹ, וּבִלְבַד שֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ מְסִירוֹת אֶת לִבּוֹ. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, אֲפִלּוּ אַחַת וּמְסִירָה אֶת לִבּוֹ, הֲרֵי זֶה לֹא יִשָּׂאֶנָּה. אִם כֵּן לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר (דברים יז) וְלֹא יַרְבֶּה לּוֹ נָשִׁים, אֲפִלּוּ כַאֲבִיגָיִל.
"He may not amass too many wives" (Deuteronomy 17:17), only eighteen. Rabbi Yehudah says, he may amass more, so long as they do not lead his heart astray. Rabbi Shimon says, even one who leads his heart astray he may not marry. If so, why does it say, (Deuteronomy 17:17) "He may not amass too many wives"? [This condition applies even if she is] like Abigail.
(א) ותקח מרים הנביאה. (ד) ועוד תמצא עקרים גדולים שבתורה מפורשים ע"י נשים כענין העוה"ב הנקרא צרור החיים ע"י אביגיל...
(1) ותקח מרים הנביאה, (4) There are numerous other fundamental aspects of Torah which have been taught to the people by women. One such fundamental concept is the spelling out of the existence of spiritual life after death which Abigail mentioned to David when she explained to him that by not taking revenge on her wicked husband Naval he would merit to be accorded special status in that hereafter (See Samuel I 25,29 where participation in the hereafter is called והיתה אדוני צרורה בצרור החיים את ה' אלו-היך, “and may the soul of my lord be joined to the bundle of life in the care of the Lord”).
...ת"ר ארבעים ושמונה נביאים ושבע נביאות נתנבאו להם לישראל... שבע נביאות מאן נינהו שרה מרים דבורה חנה אביגיל חולדה ואסתר שרה דכתיב... אביגיל דכתיב (שמואל א כה, כ) והיה היא רוכבת על החמור ויורדת בסתר ההר בסתר ההר מן ההר מיבעי ליה אמר רבה בר שמואל על עסקי דם הבא מן הסתרים נטלה דם והראתה לו אמר לה וכי מראין דם בלילה אמרה לו וכי דנין דיני נפשות בלילה אמר לה
...The Sages taught in a baraita: Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied on behalf of the Jewish people... Who were the seven prophetesses? The Gemara answers: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther. ...Abigail was a prophetess, as it is written: “And it was so, as she rode on the donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain” (I Samuel 25:20). The Gemara asks: Why does it say: “By the covert [beseter] of the mountain”? It should have said: From the mountain. The Gemara answers that in fact this must be understood as an allusion to something else. Rabba bar Shmuel said: Abigail, in her attempt to prevent David from killing her husband Nabal, came to David and questioned him on account of menstrual blood that comes from the hidden parts [setarim] of a body. How so? She took a blood-stained cloth and showed it to him, asking him to rule on her status, whether or not she was ritually impure as a menstruating woman. He said to her: Is blood shown at night? One does not examine blood-stained cloths at night, as it is difficult to distinguish between the different shades by candlelight. She said to him: If so, you should also remember another halakha: Are cases of capital law tried at night? Since one does not try capital cases at night, you cannot condemn Nabal to death at night. David said to her:
מורד במלכות הוא ולא צריך למידייניה אמרה לו עדיין שאול קיים ולא יצא טבעך בעולם אמר לה (שמואל א כה, לג) ברוך טעמך וברוכה את אשר כליתני [היום הזה] מבא בדמים דמים תרתי משמע אלא מלמד שגילתה את שוקה והלך לאורה ג' פרסאות אמר לה השמיעי לי אמרה לו (שמואל א כה, לא) לא תהיה זאת לך לפוקה זאת מכלל דאיכא אחריתי ומאי ניהו מעשה דבת שבע ומסקנא הכי הואי (שמואל א כה, כט) והיתה נפש אדוני צרורה בצרור החיים כי הוות מיפטרא מיניה אמרה ליה (שמואל א כה, לא) והטיב ה' לאדוני וזכרת את אמתך אמר רב נחמן היינו דאמרי אינשי איתתא בהדי שותא פילכא איכא דאמרי שפיל ואזיל בר אווזא ועינוהי מיטייפי
Nabal, your husband, is a rebel against the throne, as David had already been anointed as king by the prophet Samuel, and Nabal refused his orders. And therefore there is no need to try him, as a rebel is not accorded the ordinary prescriptions governing judicial proceedings. Abigail said to him: You lack the authority to act in this manner, as Saul is still alive. He is the king in actual practice, and your seal [tivakha] has not yet spread across the world, i.e., your kingship is not yet known to all. Therefore, you are not authorized to try someone for rebelling against the monarchy. David accepted her words and said to her: “And blessed be your discretion and blessed be you who have kept me this day from coming to bloodguiltiness [damim]” (I Samuel 25:33). The Gemara asks: The plural term damim, literally, bloods, indicates two. Why did David not use the singular term dam? Rather, this teaches that Abigail revealed her thigh, and he lusted after her, and he went three parasangs by the fire of his desire for her, and said to her: Listen to me, i.e., listen to me and allow me to be intimate with you. Abigail then said to him: “Let this not be a stumbling block for you” (I Samuel 25:31). By inference, from the word “this,” it can be understood that there is someone else who will in fact be a stumbling block for him, and what is this referring to? The incident involving Bathsheba. And in the end this is what was, as indeed he stumbled with Bathsheba. This demonstrates that Abigail was a prophetess, as she knew that this would occur. This also explains why David blessed Abigail for keeping him from being responsible for two incidents involving blood that day: Abigail’s menstrual blood and the shedding of Nabal’s blood. Apropos Abigail, the Gemara explains additional details in the story. Abigail said to David: “Yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bond of life with the Lord your God” (I Samuel 25:29), and when she parted from him she said to him: “And when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, and you shall remember your handmaid” (I Samuel 25:31). Rav Naḥman said that this explains the folk saying that people say: While a woman is engaged in conversation she also holds the spindle, i.e., while a woman is engaged in one activity she is already taking steps with regard to another. Abigail came to David in order to save her husband Nabal, but at the same time she indicates that if her husband dies, David should remember her and marry her. And indeed, after Nabal’s death David took Abigail for his wife. Some say that Rav Naḥman referred to a different saying: The goose stoops its head as it goes along, but its eyes look on from afar to find what it is looking for. So too, Abigail acted in similar fashion.
תנו רבנן ארבע נשים יפיפיות היו בעולם שרה (ואביגיל רחב) ואסתר...תנו רבנן רחב בשמה זינתה יעל בקולה אביגיל בזכירתה מיכל בת שאול בראייתה
...To complete the discussion about the prophetesses, the Gemara cites a baraita in which the Sages taught: There were four women of extraordinary beauty in the world: Sarah, and Abigail, Rahab, and Esther... The Sages taught in a baraita: Rahab aroused impure thoughts by her name, i.e., the mere mention of her name would inspire lust for her; Yael, by her voice; Abigail, by remembering her; Michal, the daughter of Saul, by her appearance.
by Rav Amnon Bazak
There is an interesting correspondence between the figure of Avigayil in our chapter and a figure that preceded her chronologically - Ruth the Moavitess, David's great-grandmother. Let us note the parallels between the two stories and the two personalities, and especially between the encounter between David and Avigayil and the encounter between Ruth and Boaz:
1) In both stories a woman expresses her respect for a man in an identical manner:
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. (Rut 2:10)
And she fell before David on her face, and bowed herself down to the ground. (I Shemuel 25:23)
It should be noted that Ruth and Avigayil are the only women in Scripture about whom the expression is used: "She fell on her face."[1]
2) These are the only two women in Scripture who hint to a man about their desire to marry him. Ruth says to Boaz:
And she answered, "I am Ruth your handmaid; spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid, for you are a near kinsman." (Ruth 3:9)[2]
And similarly, Avigayil says to David:
And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you and shall have appointed you prince over Israel… then remember your handmaid. (I Shmuel 25:30-31)[3]
3) In both cases, the man blesses the woman for the good that she did for him, using identical language. Boaz says to Ruth:
Blessed be you of the Lord, my daughter. (Rut 3:10)
And similarly David blesses Avigayil:
And blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you. (I Shemuel 25:33)
This formulation is also unique to these two instances, appearing nowhere else in Scripture.
4) The two stories end with the marriage of the man to the woman:
So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife. (Rut 4:13)
And David sent and spoke concerning Avigayil, to take her to him to wife… and she became his wife. (I Shmuel 25:39-42)
5) It is difficult to ignore another expression that appears only in these two stories. Boaz turns to his young men and tells them:
And do not reproach (takhlimuha) her. (Rut 2:15)
The very same wording is found in David's words to Naval, and afterwards in the words of Naval's young men to Avigayil:
And we did them no hurt (hekhlamnum)… and we were not hurt (hokhlamnu). (I Shmuel 25:7-15)
6) Both incidents take place during a festive period from an economic perspective; the incident involving Ruth and Boaz takes place during the harvest season, and the incident involving David and Avigayil during the sheep-shearing season.[4]
What is the meaning of this correspondence? It seems that this is the way in which Scripture tries to answer an important conceptual question: Why did David merit Avigayil's stepping in and preventing him from sinning? Why didn't other sinners merit having someone stop them along the way? In light of this correspondence, it can be argued that "the merit of fathers" – and more precisely, "the merit of mothers" – is what came to David's rescue. In reward for Ruth's acts of kindness and humility, her great-grandson, already standing at the edge of the abyss, merited to be saved from doing evil by way of a woman who was similar in character to his great-grandmother Ruth.[5]